Surah 7

Surah 7:84

"And We rained down on them a rain. See how the end was for the sinners!"
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Verses 7:83-84
Show Full Scripture Context (7:83-84) — 2 Verses
Verse 83

فَأَنجَيۡنَٰهُ وَأَهۡلَهُۥٓ إِلَّا ٱمۡرَأَتَهُۥ كَانَتۡ مِنَ ٱلۡغَٰبِرِينَ

So We rescued him and his family, except his wife – she was one of those who stayed behind.

Verse 84

وَأَمۡطَرۡنَا عَلَيۡهِم مَّطَرٗاۖ فَٱنظُرۡ كَيۡفَ كَانَ عَٰقِبَةُ ٱلۡمُجۡرِمِينَ

And We rained down on them a rain. See how the end was for the sinners!

Allah says, We saved Lut and his family, for only his household believed in him. Allah said in another Ayah,

So We brought out from therein the believers. But We found not there any household of the Muslims except one [of Lut and his daughters ].

Only his wife (from his family) did not believe, remaining on the religion of her people. She used to conspire with them against Lot and inform them of who came to visit him, using certain signals that they agreed on. This is why when Lut was commanded to leave by night with his family, he was ordered not to inform his wife or take her with him. Some said that she followed them, and when the torment struck her people, she looked back and suffered the same punishment as them. However, it appears that she did not leave the town and that Lot did not tell her that they would depart. So she remained with her people, as apparent from Allah’s statement,

Quoted Scripture
"except his wife; she was of the Ghabirin"

meaning, of those who remained, or they say: of those who were destroyed, and this is the more obvious explanation.

Allah’s statement,

{And We rained down on them a rain } is explained by His other statement,

and rained on them stones of baked day, in a well-arranged manner one after another. Marked from your Lord; and they are not ever far from the wrongdoers .,

Allah said here,

Quoted Scripture
"Then see what was the end of the criminals"

This Ayah means: ‘See, O Muhammad, the end of those who dared to disobey Allah and reject His Messengers.’

Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, all recorded a Hadith (from] Ibn ‘Abbas who said that Allah’s Messenger said;

«Whoever is found doing the act of the people of Lut, then kill them; the doer and the one it is done to.»

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.